Dad-of-three’s horror as he has both legs amputated after going to the doctor with flu
A DAD-OF-THREE had both his legs amputated after visiting his GP complaining of flu.
James Mackey became ill in mid-October, and thought he simply had a bout of the virus.
But things took a frightening turn when his doctor called for an ambulance immediately and he was rushed to hospital with a serious case of sepsis.
After spending two weeks in intensive care, he had both legs amputated from the calf down.
The dad in his 30s is now making a good recovery, but the illness and amputation has been a huge blow for the active man who would regularly play football with his children.
His partner, Ashley Jeans, has now set up a fundraising page to raise £25,000 to make sure they can get the right prosthetic legs that will allow him to be as active as possible.
"James will spend at least a further 3 months in hospital in the intensive care and burns unit. He is desperate to get back onto his feet again so we are looking for help to raise the funds to enable us to buy the prosthetic equipment he needs to do this.
"The legs are expensive and we are not sure if or when James will be able to return to his current job. His main goal is to be able to get back on his bike and play football with his children again.
"With your help, hopefully we can make this happen.
"If you know James, you know he is a fighter and he is determined to do all the things he did before his amputation.
"He is still battling with his hands and the rest of his body but he is strong and remains confident he may be able to spend a few days at home with us all for Christmas."
James has a teenage daughter and two young boys at primary school.
The family lives in rented accommodation currently, and may need to move into a specialised home.
In addition to the fundraising, the family wants to raise awareness of sepsis as James went undiagnosed for four days.
Doctors think the infection may have been caused through a small cut on his hand.
Ashley added on the go fund me site, which has reached more than £11,000 in 12 days: "Sepsis is when the immune system fighting an infection, turns on itself and starts to attack and destroy the body's own organs.
"Even in it's mildest form, there is a 30 per cent mortality rate and around 66,000 people die every year in the UK."
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